Wed. Oct. 3, 2018 – another day another dollar

By on October 3rd, 2018 in Random Stuff

73F and wet again. And for the foreseeable future.

Houston has “National Night Out” a bit later than the rest of the nation. We did it last night. The idea is to get to know your neighbors and show criminals that you are united against them. Here, we also focus on hurricane prep.

So I ate some homemade sausage and chatted with the neighbors for a couple of hours. It was nice. Several of our constables stopped by to say hi and chat too. Got a bit of a crime report, and talked to the shift supervisor about the chatty cathys on the radio. He said they don’t have any evidence that the bad guys monitor the radio. OK then….

He also said they need cameras pointed at the street to get vehicles and license plates to help them when there are crimes reported. Hey, I can do that!

Pecking away at my list today. Install at the rent house (hopefully only one trip to Home Depot), ebay, various clean up things… we’ll see what gets done.

OH, and don’t forget the test of the emergency alert system! 2:18pm and 2:20pm EDT. Don’t let people lose their minds…

n

73 Comments and discussion on "Wed. Oct. 3, 2018 – another day another dollar"

  1. Nick Flandrey says:

    the problem with young men, particularly in inner-city and/or “underprivileged” environments, is not guns, but an almost complete lack of family structure, inculcated morality and ethics, and the example of worthy men and women to follow.

    Peter nails it with that one statement.

    https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2018/10/gun-control-failure-to-understand.html

    The rest should be familiar to everyone here, but what a nice summary.

    n

  2. CowboySlim says:

    Roger that, n!

    Article in LA Times this am on how public schools cannot get those caught up educationally as measured by test scores.

  3. MrAtoz says:

    And, as a palate cleanser, article on Drudge about more men wearing stilettos.

    WTF, over?

  4. Nick Flandrey says:

    That picture is not of a man….

    n

  5. MrAtoz says:

    My favorite is the last guy in a Onesie. And a beard.

  6. CowboySlim says:

    WRT to my post above, page 1:
    http://ocregister.ca.newsmemory.com/

    They are comparing the state to my county, Orange.

  7. JimL says:

    Eye Bleach. Thanks for that.

    Not.

  8. hcombs says:

    We tried to visit the Presidents rally last night at the Landers Center, Southaven MS. The venue is only about 5 miles away so we waited till 1:30 pm to arrive. The parking lot was almost filled but we found a spot in a handicapped section. My wife took her walker with the seat as we knew the doors wouldn’t open till 4 pm. We got in line behind about 1000+ people in the hot sun. The wife had an sun-umbrella and cool water but after about 2 hours she began feeling faint. Her blood pressure spiked and she became extremely nauseous so we had to leave before the door opened. We were standing next to a young woman with a Black Lives Matter T-shirt. I engaged her in polite conversation and offered her water. I wanted her to know that we saw her as a person not a political opponent. We were very disappointed to miss the event but my wife’s health is fragile and we can’t take chances.

  9. dkreck says:

    Hey, my cowboy friends been wearin’ heels for years. Some pretty fancy.
    (btw I wear roper boots much of the time. not much heel there.)

  10. JLP says:

    men wearing stilettos

    The antithesis of the gray man.

    These people walk out the door and scream “look at me!”. They enter a crowd and yell “pay attention to me!” The “me decade” never ended, just the ways to shout “me, me, me” have changed. What is social media other than mostly people shouting “me, me, me”?

  11. lynn says:

    I hate supervising people. Especially the last couple of days. I’ll explain later.

  12. He who shall remain nameless. says:

    If it’s anything like supervising one of the Owner’s sons, you have my sympathy.

    “Treat him like everyone else,” they said. Yeah – right. He would have had a week off with no pay in the first month, and would have been let go a couple of years ago.

  13. brad says:

    @Lynn: I-ve always disliked being any sort of supervisor, and have mostly managed to avoid it. So you have my sympathy. Be interesting and o hear the latest tale, when you can tell it…

  14. MrAtoz says:

    Through the rank of O-3/Captain, my daily military life was supervising people in my command. As a company commander, there was also plenty of disciplinary actions. You learn a lot about managing people in the military.

  15. CowboySlim says:

    Hey, my cowboy friends been wearin’ heels for years. Some pretty fancy.
    (btw I wear roper boots much of the time. not much heel there.)

    Most of mine are about 1 1/2″, although I do have a pair with 2″ heels.
    This one is 1 3/4″;
    https://www.bakershoe.com/product/hathorn-ranch-packer-whites

    Here is the 2″:
    https://drewsboots.com/product/drews-10-buckaroo-packer-style-dh3110wc

    Rain is due here this afternoon or evening, I’ll be OK.

  16. CowboySlim says:

    Yours look great!
    My daughter has the lady Ropers!

    If I ever get up to the Crystal Palace or Ethel’s Old Corral, I’ll have mine on.

  17. CowboySlim says:

    Oh yeah, it is not about the money. It is those or none. When I bought the regular men’s dress shoes for work, my narrow foot required A or B width. There is no western wear store, such as the Boot Barn that stocks those. Consequently, I had to have mine custom made by White’s Boots.

  18. lynn says:

    So I took last Thursday and Friday off to take my Dad and Uncle to the Aggie game at Jerry’s World in Dallas. Last Thursday evening, I get an email from my sales person. They have gotten married and have decided that they no longer want to work in my office building because the commute will be too far from their new residence. In fact, this person told me a couple of months ago that we should shut down our office space and have everyone work from their homes. Because, working in an office is so old fashioned now. I just ignored them.

    Anyway, I do let this person work from 50% of the time and have for several years. I even let them work more in the last year due to suppose, yes supposed, Harvey damage to their home. I am now thinking that I got taken advantage of. I replied Sunday night (after thinking about this all weekend) that I was not going to change my policy. I even make my office manager spend 50% of her time in the office and I am married to her.

    I replied to their email that I was not going to allow the 100% remote working. I proposed two days in the office per week to get us down the road. I get back this long email about how that person now has a daughter that they are taking back and forth to school. And how that person no longer feels safe in our office building since we are out in the country. And that their spouse does not think that they can be safe here. Did I mention the long email ?

    Also in the email was the statement that they were no longer going to work at the office building as of today, Wednesday, only 100% remote. The person now needed to be at home to supervise workmen fixing their home for sale. The person did volunteer to come by the office occasionally, whatever that means, for meetings. We don’t have meetings.

    So I replied that today, Wednesday, is the person’s last day here at my business. What do you want to bet that the person is going to file for unemployment on my business ?

    I hate supervising people. I do not need this drama in my life, I have plenty of drama, way more than my fair share.

  19. Rick H says:

    @Lynn …. I’d revoke (or severely restrict) network/computer privileges for those employees. In fact, depending on their work, I’d even block their access fully, and give them two weeks severance pay (if they deserve it).

    Access to the ‘crown jewels’ of the business needs to be tightly controlled,and a disgruntled soon-to-be-ex-employee can cause mayhem if they wish.

    Removing network/business access at the first sign of ‘disgruntlement’ is important, IMHO. And revoking/curtailing all access (including physical access) is also important.

    I suspect, though, that you are aware of this.

  20. lynn says:

    “The “MeToo” movement and the “War On Women” crusade has morphed into an all-out war and assault on men. Political Cartoon by A. F. Branco ©2018.”
    https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-right-to-a-life/

    Wow.

  21. lynn says:

    @Lynn …. I’d revoke (or severely restrict) network/computer privileges for those employees. In fact, depending on their work, I’d even block their access fully, and give them two weeks severance pay (if they deserve it).

    Yes, I am going to do this in a little while. And I have a problem giving a person two weeks severance pay when they quit. The job is still here and now I have to find someone to do the job for me. I will pay them for their accumulated vacation though.

    I also told the person to come in for an exit interview. But, no email and no show up so far.

  22. mediumwave says:

    “The “MeToo” movement and the “War On Women” crusade has morphed into an all-out war and assault on men. Political Cartoon by A. F. Branco ©2018.”

    A fitting response to:

    When They Came For Kavanaugh’s Kid

  23. Greg Norton says:

    In fact, this person told me a couple of months ago that we should shut down our office space and have everyone work from their homes. Because, working in an office is so old fashioned now. I just ignored them.

    I don’t like to work from home, but I’m not a hipster millennial. That said, when I work from home, I *work*. I go crazy being idle, without a coding challenge to chew on.

    At CGI, the people who pushed to work from home at least 50% of the time tended to live in mid-Austin or points south. The dilemma the company faced was that the city, county, and state provided tax breaks in order to develop Belton and Temple as a community, not as an office park for Austin’s hipper-than-thou.

    Of course a few who pushed the hardest to work 100% from home were interviewing. I’m willing to bet that was your sales guy.

  24. He who shall remain nameless. says:

    I don’t like to work from home. Too much “kid time” and not enough “work time”. As it is I get most of my side-business work done from 3am to 6am. No way could I do that all day long.

    I find I like coming to work to work. I get things done here.

    And now it’s time to go and spend time with the kids and NOT work.

  25. mediumwave says:

    From today’s Letters To The Editor in the WSJ:

    “I really think that President Trump should nominate Hillary Clinton to the Supreme Court so an investigation of her can finally get started.”

    Heh.

  26. Ray Thompson says:

    I’d revoke (or severely restrict) network/computer privileges for those employees.

    We did that at the bank. The person was called to human resources in a different building. While the person was gone all their system access was removed, their security badge was revoked so they could not longer get in the office. We would have a supervisor let them in the office, watch them gather their belongings, and have security escort them out of the building and retrieve their parking pass. Everyone along the way was instructed to not say a word to the person, not even goodbye.

  27. Greg Norton says:

    I don’t like to work from home. Too much “kid time” and not enough “work time”. As it is I get most of my side-business work done from 3am to 6am. No way could I do that all day long.

    I was stay-at-home parent for four years in Vantucky. It will be a while before I want to work from home beyond crunch time extra hours at night or on the weekend.

  28. lynn says:

    @Lynn …. I’d revoke (or severely restrict) network/computer privileges for those employees. In fact, depending on their work, I’d even block their access fully, and give them two weeks severance pay (if they deserve it).

    BTW, just one employee. I used they instead of he or she to mask them.

  29. paul says:

    they were no longer going to work at the office building as of today, Wednesday, only 100% remote.

    Sounds like quitting without notice. Kill their access to your network. Right Now.

    Not sure you have to pay their accumulated vacation and sick time. HEB didn’t pay that to me and I had almost six weeks of vacation and a week of sick days. But I walked w/o giving notice. I hoped but expected nothing.

  30. paul says:

    “I really think that President Trump should nominate Hillary Clinton to the Supreme Court so an investigation of her can finally get started.”

    And in that vein, http://stiltonsplace.blogspot.com/2018/06/supreme-irony.html

    Cracks me up every time I see it.

  31. Ray Thompson says:

    Not sure you have to pay their accumulated vacation and sick time

    Vacation time must be paid as that is an earned benefit. Sick time is up to the company.

  32. DadCooks says:

    I’d be tearing my hair out if I had any left.

    My Wife just told me that my Daughter wants to quit her job, go to some unnamed “school” in Seattle (sounds like one of those degree mills) and get some sort of degree? certificate? in coding, computer coding. BTW, she equates coding with programming which to my mind are two different things.

    She has done no research and my Wife is telling me to keep a cool head. Cool head, my butt.

    Not going to be a pleasant dinner tonight.

    Signing off as GrumpyDad+ tonight.

  33. Spook says:

    From the employee grunt side, I’d say one should delete lots of stuff on the way out.
    I once scrubbed a hard disk (even of the OS, since I was tight on time) to delete a lot of my work (that was in the files on paper, but would have had to be re-typed) and to delete my legal copy of a certain word processor (that nobody would have likely wanted anyway). It did leave the hardware useless, since nobody had any clue about how to install the OS (though I do seem to recall that the Windows 3.x floppies were lying there)…
    The bridge was on fire as I ran away across it, so no loss.

  34. lynn says:

    Vacation time must be paid as that is an earned benefit. Sick time is up to the company.

    Yup on the earned vacation time. We don’t pay accumulated sick time.

  35. Ray Thompson says:

    I’d say one should delete lots of stuff on the way out

    I did that for one job where I hated the job and the owner. It was a stop gap job after I got laid off until a better job came along.

    Lots of files, only copies on my computer. I copied them to floppy (it was in 1994), and then deleted the files. Went into the office of the owner and handed him my resignation letter. He blew up, claimed I had used him and his company (I had). I originally thought it would be a good job but I found out he was a jerk.

    He demanded I leave the building immediately otherwise he would have me charged with trespassing. So I left. Three days later one of his employees calls asking where the files were. I told the employee to have the owner call me directly if he really wanted the files. The owner called and I informed him that he owed me for three hours work on the day he demanded I leave the building. Pay me for the hours and he would get his files. He said he would sue for theft. I said I would go to the TN labor board for failing to pay wages. He never paid, the files were destroyed a couple weeks later.

  36. Spook says:

    Not likely to be my problem again, but my advice to anybody who works for somebody is to have a parachute packed, and an exit plan. Think hard about taking company property, but for sure take anything that you can legitimately claim as your own.
    Going so far as to keep an off-site back-up would either be a life-saver in case of an office fire or something, or it could cover your behind it if came to that.

  37. paul says:

    I once scrubbed a hard disk (even of the OS, since I was tight on time)

    I sort of did the same. My PC was a 286 and I had installed Windows 3.1 or 3.11. I forget. It wasn’t suppose to work. Windows worked just fine but just in black and white.

    I learned a lot playing with it. It was’t a big deal to stuff in a floppy, boot to DOS and do a format /u. Then re-install DOS 6.

  38. DadCooks says:

    Take a look, from Dave’s (OFD) brother:
    https://www.ttgnet.com/journal/old-posts/#comment-152649

  39. lynn says:

    From the employee grunt side, I’d say one should delete lots of stuff on the way out.

    That will get you one to five years here in Texas.

  40. Rick H says:

    My departure from my most previous (and last before my 2nd retirement) was amiacable. In fact, I worked from WA for several weeks until they hired my replacement.

    Before I left, I placed all of the information about what I had done (configuring web servers, etc) into a Sharepoint document/database, so that the next person would know how things were configured. There was a lot of customization of things, so they were well documented – with graphics.

    I also removed any personal files from the work computer, securely erasing them. This was done several months before I left. I made the decision to leave the state (due to wife’s health reasons in Feb, and we actually moved in June. So I had plenty of time to remove personal files, with the knowledge that they would only be available via backups, and it was not likely that anyone would bother.

    I did some remote work from WA for about 6 weeks before they hired my replacement. They then revoked my credentials and business email account after my final working day – although it took them several days to do that.

    The process mentioned before that was done by the bank is the proper way to do that when a technical (or any) person is fired/laid off. Too many instances of lax ‘exiting’ procedures can cause a business problems if the ex-employee decides to harm the business systems or data.

  41. Greg Norton says:

    My Wife just told me that my Daughter wants to quit her job, go to some unnamed “school” in Seattle (sounds like one of those degree mills) and get some sort of degree? certificate? in coding, computer coding. BTW, she equates coding with programming which to my mind are two different things.

    If she has a serious interest and Tri-Cities WSU won’t cut it. WSU Vancouver’s CS program isn’t terrible at the undergrad level. The only problem I have with WSUV CS is that they are *not* set up with classes convenient for anyone who really works a full time job.

    Alternatively, there is DTCC at WSUV, but it is a lot more art than code.

    Either way, your daughter will get a lot more out of WSUV than a mill in Seattle.

  42. lynn says:

    My Wife just told me that my Daughter wants to quit her job, go to some unnamed “school” in Seattle (sounds like one of those degree mills) and get some sort of degree? certificate? in coding, computer coding. BTW, she equates coding with programming which to my mind are two different things.

    We are now getting these Code Ninjas places in retail store fronts. There are at least two of them within ten miles of me.
    https://www.codeninjas.com/locations

  43. Greg Norton says:

    “From the employee grunt side, I’d say one should delete lots of stuff on the way out.”

    That will get you one to five years here in Texas.

    When I finally had enough management lying at my job in Seattle, I politely quit. No notice, but no yelling, screaming or destruction either. I even turned in my subsidized transit card and had to eat a $17 (!) bus ride back to my crash pad outside Seattle to pick up my car for the drive home.

    Being polite did far more damage to them than anything illegal/unethical. Up until Nokia bought out the investors earlier this year, the place was a rotating door, kept alive by revenues from a few key mesh networking patents, but not developing anything truly innovative.

  44. dkreck says:

    In forty years of computer work, most as a programmer, I’ve never met a woman who was a ‘real’ programmer. Could just be me. Actually I’ve never met a female that really tried to. I’ve met a few that tried to tell the rest of us what to do.

  45. Ray Thompson says:

    My last job I spent months documenting everything I could for my replacement. Spent four months working with him to help him through the transition. Still help him occasionally via email or text message. I wanted him and the organization to succeed.

  46. ech says:

    In forty years of computer work, most as a programmer, I’ve never met a woman who was a ‘real’ programmer.

    It’s you. I’ve worked with several excellent programmers that were female.

  47. lynn says:

    In forty years of computer work, most as a programmer, I’ve never met a woman who was a ‘real’ programmer. Could just be me. Actually I’ve never met a female that really tried to. I’ve met a few that tried to tell the rest of us what to do.

    I have worked with three women programmers that I remember. One was a superb Fortran and C programmer. The other two were ok.

    One of the two ok women programmers filed a charge on me with HR that I was “overbearing”. I ignored her from then on, she quit after a while, I doubt it was me. She filed a workers comp claim by trying to get a book off a shelf using a rolling chair which reputedly flipped on her which made management very unhappy.

  48. lynn says:

    The problem employee (former) wrote me an email in which they stated that they are not quitting. They want to stay working at the business. They are just not going to commute to the office building anymore to work.

    Why me ???

  49. Spook says:

    “From the employee grunt side, I’d say one should delete lots of stuff on the way out.”

    That will get you one to five years here in Texas.

    Looking back (and noting that it was 20 years ago, as I said, Windows 3.x days), I possibly should have taken the time to delete the reports and such I had written, since it would be hard to prove that they still existed on the hard drive after being printed (and filed in the public record), and I was obligated to delete the personally licensed software, to prevent illegal use of that.
    Nah, I still find it satisfying to know that the hardware was “trashed” pending a rather easy (for anyone with basic knowledge) installation of a fresh OS copy.
    Maybe they won’t hunt me down now, in any case.

  50. Rick H says:

    @lynn … it would seem to me that you, as the employee, have the right to determine where and when the employee is to work. It should be in their employment contract, or in the general policies of your organization.

    If the employee doesn’t want to follow those rules, then the employee can be fired ‘for cause’. If there is no employment contract with the employee, then the employer can ‘fire at will’ and be justified in doing so.

    But that’s just my opinion. IMNAL, nor have I played one on TV (or stayed at a Holiday Inn). And I have no knowledge of any local/state/federal labor laws.

    The Houston Chronicle has this article: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/can-employee-fired-warning-31282.html . (Aren’t you in Texas?)

  51. Nick Flandrey says:

    @lynn, you need to be VERY CAREFUL about ANY communication, and you need a lawyer to draft those communications RIGHT NOW.

    I got one year of unemployment benefits when I left a job, because I told the boss I’d be leaving the city (moving) but I was willing to stay and continue working for him. He said “Nah” because I’d just told him I was leaving and that was betrayal. The state (Cali) determined that because I’d offered to stay, I was entitled to Unemployment….

    You could land yourself in a lot of grief by saying what a human would say, and this employee sounds like they know it and know how to take advantage of you.

    n

  52. Nick Flandrey says:

    Now that I’m caught up, I’ve had a productive and yet destructive day.

    Got the new dishwasher installed at the rent house. Got a real nice floor model for $400 off list, and it looks great.

    Unfortunately, I slipped on the wet stairs and fell on my elbow. Skin split in 3 directions, but no bone damage, which is a blessing. HURTS!!!!!!!!

    Used my big first aid kit to wrap up and control bleeding while I finished the install.

    Went to urgent care, got cleaned out and stitched up. Now on keflex (powerful antibiotic) because the wound was dirty. Edges are torn and ragged. HURTS!!!!!!

    So that monkey wrenched my plans for the next week…

    n

  53. Spook says:

    I would not want to be an employer or an employee these days.
    I guess I’m better off as a poor retiree.

  54. Nick Flandrey says:

    I must be meeting new people lately as I’ve done my “I used to work in oil and gas, but now I sell on ebay/ am retired” spiel several times in the past few days.

    I’d be fired for badthink as soon as I let my guard down.

    n

  55. Nick Flandrey says:

    I’m going to bed, hope I can sleep without banging my arm around.

    @rick, we might see some visits to some older pages as I’ve posted a couple of links to my radio posts on another forum… we’ll see if we get any traffic.

    n

  56. Nick Flandrey says:

    Look familiar?

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6235539/Teenage-girl-17-says-Secret-Service-kicked-President-Trumps-Mississippi-rally.html

    “Teenage girl, 17, says ‘the Secret Service kicked her out of President Trump’s Mississippi rally because she was wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt'”

    and now, off to bed, really

    n

  57. lynn says:

    I got my insurance settlement on the heart surgery in August. The hospital bill was $115K, the insurance paid amount is $13K. My portion is $3,700.

    They should have given me the $12K anesthesia for free as they sure did not give me enough.

  58. mediumwave says:

    My Wife just told me that my Daughter wants to quit her job, go to some unnamed “school” in Seattle (sounds like one of those degree mills) and get some sort of degree? certificate? in coding, computer coding. BTW, she equates coding with programming which to my mind are two different things.

    Buy her a basic book on Java and let her study it and do the exercises in the evenings/weekends. She’ll decide pretty quickly if this is the sort of thing she wants to do for 40-60 hours/week.

    I’m gonna guess that a small taste will restore her sanity.

  59. lynn says:

    The state (Cali) determined that because I’d offered to stay, I was entitled to Unemployment….

    Cali is friendly to employees. Texas is friendly to employers. I’ve been to unemployment court before in Texas, it was unfair to the employee (I won).

    You could land yourself in a lot of grief by saying what a human would say, and this employee sounds like they know it and know how to take advantage of you.

    True dat. The employee (former) works me over all the time. Lots and lots of drama.

  60. lynn says:

    Unfortunately, I slipped on the wet stairs and fell on my elbow. Skin split in 3 directions, but no bone damage, which is a blessing. HURTS!!!!!!!!

    Dude, ouch !

    You know what you need to do to those stairs.
    https://www.amazon.com/Clear-Anti-Slip-Stair-Step-Treads/dp/B01M6VG1AV?tag=ttgnet-20

  61. Nick Flandrey says:

    That looks great, but these are painted concrete and outdoors….

    I think we’ll hit them with another coat of paint, but put a bunch of grit in it this time.

    n

    Woke up several times, but tylenol is managing the pain.

  62. Greg Norton says:

    Cali is friendly to employees. Texas is friendly to employers. I’ve been to unemployment court before in Texas, it was unfair to the employee (I won).

    Texas law is probably the reason that Texas Instruments did not become a Fairchild Semiconductor. CA law prohibits non-compete agreements going back to the 1840s.

    OTOH, the most well-known defection of engineers and knowledge from Fairchild was the group who became the core of Intel, including Andy Grove and Gordon Moore, the Moore of Moore’s Law.

    I think that startup did ok.

  63. Greg Norton says:

    True dat. The employee (former) works me over all the time. Lots and lots of drama.

    Sales. You probably don’t want to know how some of the deals got closed.

    One of my former managers recently had a brief stint at Salesforce in their fancy new building in San Francisco. From what I understand, he was less than thrilled with the sales-driven culture and was “encouraged to spend more time with family” in less than two years.

    Another co-worker, however, who I always suspected was a coke head, has done well as a “developer” for Salesforce in Dallas. I think I see a pattern.

    I’ve always believed that Salesforce wants to be Microsoft’s San Francisco division, but Redmond is waiting for the bottom to fall out before buying them.

  64. Greg Norton says:

    “In forty years of computer work, most as a programmer, I’ve never met a woman who was a ‘real’ programmer. ”

    It’s you. I’ve worked with several excellent programmers that were female.

    I’ve stated before that I believe the problem with gender diversity in the tech workforce is that most women capable of doing the job are too sensible to get involved with a career with such a short half life. Sure, there are exceptions, but 10 years is typical.

    My rule of thumb is about 10% of the population is capable of doing real development work. In my experience, that fraction cuts across all demographics and has nothing to do with race/gender. I’ve noticed higher percentage of LGBTQ, nudits, and other alternative lifestyles in tech, but I chalked it up to the job having to get done so management looks the other way as long as the kinks are legal, happen after hours, and involve consenting adults.

  65. Nick Flandrey says:

    I’ve known a couple of females who were good in tech heavy jobs. They stand out more than the couple of males I know who were actually good. The percentage of the population might be the same but the percentage of those who actually get hired and work in the industry is very different. LOTS of mediocre men, because there are lots of men. Few really shining talents, either men or women.

    Daughter has a library book going back today that is part of a series called “Girls Who Code.” They must solve crimes or save the world or something, while dressing like ninjas or superheros. I haven’t read the book. She’s starting to read stuff on her own.

    Anyway, always remember– they do not have your best interests in mind. THEY HAVE THEIR BEST INTERESTS IN MIND. What does an influx of unskilled labor do to labor prices in construction??? Holds them down in a race to the bottom. What will an influx of “coders” do to wages in the industry? Drive it down, and they won’t need to mess around with H1B visas or worry that they are going away. When did all this “learn to code” business get really going?? I bet it was shortly after the H1B visa became an issue.

    Anyone else remember the push to get more people into teaching? Well, how did that work out?

    n

  66. Ray Thompson says:

    The hospital bill was $115K, the insurance paid amount is $13K. My portion is $3,700

    Without insurance you would have been stuck with paying another $95K, for the rest of your life.

    What I don’t understand if the hospital is making money at $16K based on the insurance agreement, charging someone without insurance $115K is price gouging at the highest level. An almost 800% markup is insane.

    Imagine going into a grocery store for a gallon of milk at $3.00 but because you don’t have a loyalty card the cost is now $24.00. The FTC, State, and local authorities would be all over the grocery store.

    You know what you need to do to those stairs

    We had our front concrete steps coated with some type of epoxy stuff that is rough. Different colors and done in a design to make it look like bricks. Fools almost everyone. Well worth having it done.

  67. Greg Norton says:

    When did all this “learn to code” business get really going?? I bet it was shortly after the H1B visa became an issue.

    They tried “onshoring” first. I saw that at CGI last year. Paying $23/hour for skilled development labor is a crack-smoking fantasy in the era of $20,000 Toyota Corollas, however, so the “learn to code” academies started popping up in the last six months.

  68. DadCooks says:

    My Daughter, Wife, and I survived last night’s “discussion regarding” a “new career”. There is something deeper here that I am not getting out of her. I need to find the root cause of the desire for a new career. Did get from her some B.S. that the “owner” of the hospital is putting out that is making everyone uncomfortable. I told her to tread lightly and look at the facts, not the management party line that is so so wrong. The Federal and State Hospital Regulators could have a field day with the out and out lies they are putting out (revolves around For-Profit and Non-Profit Hospitals, reimbursement, and the hospital’s Approved Certificate of Need).

    @Greg Norton said:

    “Either way, your daughter will get a lot more out of WSUV than a mill in Seattle.”

    She has not even researched WSU Tri-Cites or Columbia Basin College (they now offer real degrees in some areas, not just associate degrees).

    Thanks for your comment, adds weight to my guidance.

    @mediumwave said:

    “Buy her a basic book on Java and let her study it and do the exercises in the evenings/weekends. She’ll decide pretty quickly if this is the sort of thing she wants to do for 40-60 hours/week.
    I’m gonna guess that a small taste will restore her sanity.”

    Sound like an avenue to explore. Thanks.

    @Nick
    Slow down

    Peace

  69. ech says:

    There is also the online WGU that offers coding degrees online. Not sure if WA is a part of it.

  70. brad says:

    @DadCooks: I don’t know your family situation, but: your daughter must be an adult, and not a realy young one? Yet it sounds lije she’s expecting your financial support for her career change.

    “No” is a complete sentence. Advice, sure, but she can pay for her own school, if it’s what she really wants.

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